Still aiming to kick goals

Anchoring a new breakfast radio show is the latest challenge for Garry Lyon, reports Michael Winkler.

Garry Lyon is halfway out the door when he stops and says, "Don't die wondering, mate. I hope it works (his radio show). If it doesn't work, we'll try something else." Then he heads off to face the rest of his day.

It's 10am and Lyon has been up for close to six hours. Three of them have been spent on air anchoring the show Morning Glory at Melbourne's newest radio station, 1116 SEN. He looks tired.

At 10-past-eight the night before, he wished his three sons goodnight. They protested that they were allowed to stay up until 8:30. "I told them, 'It's not your bedtime, it's mine'," Lyon says. "Doing breakfast has flipped my lifestyle upside down. You've just got to make some changes, be a bit more selective."

Lyon stands alongside Robert Flower as Melbourne's best footballer since Ron Barassi. His 226 league games were characterised by elevated levels of courage and skill, despite a serious back condition that hampered the second half of his career.

It is one of the vagaries of our culture that we tend to hang onto the words of men who were once good at kicking leather balls. The likelihood that good footballers will say something worth listening to is not particularly high. Why should someone be expected to shine in one area just because they are gifted in a completely different part of life?

Lyon, however, has succeeded on both sides of the fence. He had "future captain" stamped on his brow from the moment he arrived in town from Kyabram as a 16-year-old. A natural leader, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind on issues that mattered to him when he was a player. Since trading the mouthguard for the microphone, he has been successful on television and radio.

In the past decade he has worked for 3AW and NOVA. Now he faces his sternest radio test. Breakfast is the hottest slot on the airwaves, and leading the team (he is flanked by Tim Watson and Bill Brownless) on a new station is no small ask. A bit like threading a drop-punt through the goals from a half-back flank at the MCG.

"Radio is a pretty competitive environment," he says. "Throw yourself into this market and you're biting off a fair bit. Whatever I jump into, I want to succeed at. A lot of people talk about stuff: 'I reckon this could happen'; 'I've got this idea for a show'. But they don't do anything. There are knockers out there. People bag you: 'Stupid idea'; 'It's not going to work'. I just laugh at them and say, 'When have you ever followed through on one of your ideas?'

"The biggest thing footy taught me was discipline. If you commit to something you have to follow it through, regardless of the challenges that get thrown up. You've got to relinquish some responsibility, trust other people, rely on teammates. And you've got to back up what you say you're going to do."

The good news for those whose heart beats true for men in red and blue is that the eyes of the former Demons skipper haven't changed. Advancing age (he's all of 36), too little sleep and too much responsibility haven't dulled his peepers. When he was a footballer, Lyon's black eyes glimmered as if he was permanently on the verge of laughter. Along with the bowstring shape his body made when he launched a long kick at goal, it was his trademark. He's not a kid playing a game any more, but there is enough of a sparkle to suggest he can still enjoy himself.

"We have a lot of fun on our show, and the feedback has been really positive." Lyon was integral in assembling the station's programming with business partner Rod Law, something he calls, "a monumental experience. I can't remember a precedent. Organisations take over stations, but they've always had product in place. It's been a bit of an unknown, but we couldn't be happier."

The new station - and Lyon's show - debuted just hours after David Hookes was taken to hospital. "I got out of bed early, pumped up and excited. I was driving in and heard on the news that Hookesy had been involved in a hotel incident. I didn't understand the gravity of the situation. I thought he'd just been in a bit of a barney. We'd talk to him, try to get him to come across and join us here (at SEN). It was a massive downer. I felt like turning around and driving home. It just smashed us."

Talking about sport rather than playing it hasn't made Lyon bitter. "I've never once felt short-changed (about retiring from football). When I retired I couldn't have squeezed another game out. I was done, dusted, gone and ready to move on."

In the intervening time he has coached Australia in several International Rules series against Ireland. He has also collaborated with schoolmate Felice Arena on the wildly successful Specky Magee kids books. The first one sold more than 50,000 copies and the third will appear soon.

There is no success without the risk of failure. Lyon played in a grand-final side and a wooden-spoon team. SEN could go belly-up. Morning Glory could flop. But Lyon is likely to retain a certain golden hue for footy-mad Melburnians.

"All these players come out of footy and say 'I want to be in the media', then they set about trying to be something they're not. I'm a country boy, I've got an inquiring mind, I like to have a laugh. I don't only read the back pages, I like to keep up to speed with what's happening around the world, but sport is what I love most. I just try to be who I am."